The cellular market app has a rising variety of customers, however not all of them are real. Be careful for these widespread scams.
04 Feb 2026
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6 min. learn
OfferUp has been in enterprise for almost 15 years. Though little recognized outdoors the US, {the marketplace} app competes for client hearts and minds with business giants Craigslist, Fb Market and eBay. And like them, it has an issue with fraud. When you’re seeking to purchase or promote on the platform and need to keep away from the scammers, learn on.
Prime 10 OfferUp scams
OfferUp claims to course of over 30 million transactions every year. That’s inevitably going to draw some customers with nefarious motives. Listed here are the commonest scams it’s possible you’ll encounter on the platform:
Counterfeit gadgets
Watch out for high-value gadgets that become rip offs. The vendor will sometimes attempt to persuade you to pay by way of a third-party service (e.g., Zelle, Venmo) moderately than by means of the app, as doing so means the merchandise received’t be coated by OfferUp’s Buy Safety.
Cost rip-off
As above, scammers (whether or not purchaser or sellers) will usually attempt to trick you into transacting by way of third-party money app providers. They could:
- Promise to pay above the asking value for a product you’re promoting, in an effort to persuade you to conform to them utilizing a money app. They then overpay utilizing a stolen account or pretend examine, and ask for a refund. When you pay it, you’ll finally be down the refund, plus your merchandise, and could also be requested to repay the unique fraudulent sum
- Ask to pay by way of reward playing cards, which become pretend or with zero worth
- Declare to be out-of-town sellers, requesting cash-app cost for gadgets they by no means find yourself delivery
Account takeover
A purchaser asks you for a verification code in an effort to ‘confirm’ your itemizing, for example by means of Google Voice. In truth, they’re often making an attempt to log into your account and wish the two-factor authentication code despatched by OfferUp. When you hand it over, they get management of your account, enabling them to entry your private data and doubtlessly use your account to rip-off others.
Empty field
Some sellers add disclaimers in a prolonged merchandise description saying they’re solely providing the field or a digital photograph of the merchandise. So when it arrives, all you’ll obtain is an empty field.
Phishing hyperlinks
Rip-off patrons and sellers would possibly ship you a message saying one thing like “click on right here to receives a commission” or “click on to confirm your data”. Doing so will take you to a phishing website the place you’ll be requested to fill in your logins, cost particulars and/or different delicate private data.
Electronic mail phishing
Some patrons or sellers would possibly ask to your e-mail handle or telephone quantity throughout the transaction course of. They’ll use it to spam you with malicious hyperlinks designed to steal your data or set up malware in your gadget.
Deposit rip-off
A vendor posts a high-value merchandise, providing to ship it to you so long as you put a deposit down to safe it. It seems the merchandise doesn’t exist, and also you’ve misplaced the deposit.
Bouncing checks
A scammer pays for an merchandise you’re promoting by way of examine, which bounces a number of days later, leaving you with out the merchandise and no cost.
Funding alternative
A vendor posts a list about an “funding alternative” or related, however requires you to ship cash first.
Pretend jobs
Scammers might pose as employers that require upfront cost for ‘background checks’ or related. Alternatively, they could request you fill in your private and monetary particulars as a part of the ‘software course of,’ which they will use for id fraud.
What OfferUp protects
OfferUp provides 2-day Buy Safety for patrons, that means that you’ve got 48 hours from supply to file a declare for gadgets:
- Considerably not as described
- Broken in transit
- Counterfeit
You too can file for gadgets not obtained and/or empty field scams.
Nonetheless, OfferUp is not going to supply safety for something bought off-app, or that violates its guidelines (e.g., reward playing cards, alcohol), or that was paid for in money, in particular person.
What to look out for
If you’re searching the app, the next ought to all be purple flags:
- Offers which can be too good to be true, often from fraudulent sellers who need you to place a deposit down, or rip-off patrons wanting to influence you into transacting off app.
- A purchaser profile with no historical past. This isn’t essentially a scammer, however it pays to be additional cautious
- A instructed meetup level that’s not a Neighborhood Meetup Spot, as this might point out they need the transaction to not be noticed
- A purchaser/vendor asks for a verification code, which they really need to log into your account
- Consumers/sellers ship you messages containing hyperlinks to ‘confirm’ or related
- A vendor tries to make use of urgency to hurry you into making an unwise resolution, like shopping for a counterfeit merchandise or placing a deposit down for a non-existent merchandise.
- Emotional manipulation, similar to scammers saying they cannot meet in particular person as a result of they’re within the navy or out of city on household emergency
- Phrases like “field solely,” “digital photograph,” or “reproduction” hidden in a prolonged product description
- Requests to repay app
- Inventory images of things moderately than ones they’ve taken themselves, indicating they don’t really personal the product
- Overpayment for an merchandise
Staying protected
To remain protected on the app, the recommendation could be very easy: don’t go away it and don’t click on on any doubtful hyperlinks. Which means by no means leaving the app for messaging or funds, by no means handing over your private particulars, and never responding to messages with hyperlinks in them. When you prepare an in-person sale, be certain it’s at a Neighborhood Meetup Spot. And if you wish to be extremely cautious, solely purchase from or promote to a person with a “TruYou” badge on their profile, indicating their id has been verified.
I’ve been scammed, what subsequent?
If the worst-case situation involves go, report the rip-off to OfferUp instantly, in case you’re coated by the agency’s 2-day Buy Safety. In Messages, faucet the dialog with the scammer and the three dots within the nook, then Report. Submit a Buy Safety declare within the OfferUp Assist Middle.
When you’ve paid outdoors of the app, contact your financial institution to file a chargeback (if a card cost) or file a report with the money app you paid with. The latter is unlikely to get your a refund, however might assist get the scammer banned.
When you’ve shared private data or a verification code with a scammer, change your app passwords, and do the identical for any websites you reuse the identical credential on. Monitor your financial institution accounts for uncommon exercise. And be cautious of any follow-up phishing makes an attempt that pop into your inbox/messages.
Lastly, think about reporting the rip-off to the authorities, eg FTC, FBI or Report Fraud (UK). Earlier than you delete messages or block the person, take screenshots of the unique itemizing, the scammer’s profile, your chat historical past and any cost receipts.
OfferUp is nice technique to choose up bargains in your space, or make just a little more money from gadgets you now not want. However keep in mind, not everyone seems to be appearing in good religion.
